As others have said, he would also be branded a felon, which in the US is enough to ruin most people's professional careers - not to mention a host of other very strict restrictions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony#United_States
Besides all the restrictions, there's also the stigma attached to it.
Maybe he could find some people to help him out 5 years from now. Maybe even 10 or 20, but for how long would he be able to rely on that?